Sounds that are Fiords

We had the great fortune to do two incredible cruises: Milford Sound and Doubtful Sound. The former we did with my mother, Ellen, who visited for two weeks and has only recently returned to Cincinnati. On the second, we made new friends: an older gay couple and younger best friends all from NYC and our cabin mate, a young woman from Denmark.

It was explained to us that a "sound" is an inlet of the sea or ocean that was created by erosion by a river and thus V-shaped, whereas a fiord was formed by a glacier and U-shaped. By this definition, all of the "sounds" of the South Island are technically fiords. Rather than renaming them, they just dubbed the whole area Fiordland.

Jeremy with new friends Nathan and Dan

The result of this landform-sculpting is astonishing views of cliffs rising out of the water. What follows are some of my favorite photos and videos from the two cruises.